Worth It
by PleasedAsPunch
Summary: Reunion fic.  Three years after Doomsday.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! It's been a long semester, and I haven't had time to write for fun. So here we are. This is another reunion fic. I wish I'd have paced this a little better, but I think it works okay. I just get so excited about them seeing each other again! This should be a couple more chapters after this. Hope you enjoy it! :)**

Rose pushed a three-year-old Tony Tyler on a swing in a park while Jackie spread a picnic blanket on the grass. The little boy giggled as Rose pushed him higher, and her hair, now quite long, whipped around her face in the wind.

"Wosie, push higher!" Tony squealed, and Rose laughed, giving him a great push. Tony Tyler was blond and cheerful looking. He had the same pinkness to his skin as his older, other-dimensional sister, and had the same brown eyes. They were definitely siblings. He even had a streak for getting into trouble, though he had yet to begin nursery school.

Jackie was laying out the picnic for their first picnic of the year, Tony's first as an active participant. For the past three years, Rose had become complacent with her home in this universe. She would not necessarily describe herself as particularly happy, though she was content, if only because she had to be for her family.

After the Doctor had left her on the beach of Bad Wolf Bay, she'd flung herself into work, trying to discover a way, any way, to get herself back to him. The fervency of her work bordered on obsession, but she reasoned that it was because she had promised him forever, and she was not one to break promises. He was her best friend, and she wasn't about to let him get away that easily. What was a sealed universe between mates?

But today she was taking a break, one that Jackie had insisted upon. She was concerned for Rose. She knew she was getting close to figuring out how to get back, and she'd been working increasingly long hours at Torchwood. So Jackie insisted that Rose take a day off for the sake of her health, and Rose, tired to her bones, agreed.

"Rose, Tony! Picnic's ready!" Jackie shouted from the grass. Rose halted the swing and lugged Tony out of the seat, spinning him around before setting him on the ground.

"Let's eat, eh?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows up down. Tony took off towards his mother, and Rose followed.

"You should play with your brother more, Rose. He always smiles so much when you play together."

"I love Wosie," said Tony, biting into a sandwich.

Rose grinned crookedly, looking at her adorable little brother.

"I love you too, Tony."

It was a particularly windy day for April, but the sky was a breathtaking shade of blue, and the temperature was perfect. The wind had picked up considerably, causing Rose to twist her hair up into a bun so that it stayed out of her face, even though little wisps escaped and danced around her cheeks.

She daydreamed. Jackie was talking about something, but she wasn't sure what. Perhaps drapes? This universe's version of EastEnders? For a moment, Rose was back on the TARDIS. The Doctor had said something funny, she wasn't sure what, but they were doubled over in laughter, their bodies close, and she could feel his body shake against hers. Neither of them moved away. Neither of them flinched as they turned towards each other, when his hand came up to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. Was this in her mind or was this a memory? She heard the distant screech of the TARDIS, and the daydream collapsed on itself. She shook her head, trying to root herself back into reality, but the sound of the TARDIS would not cease.

"Rose," she heard Jackie say, and she refocused her eyes. Jackie was looking over Rose's shoulder behind her, her eyes as big as plates. "Rose, love," she repeated. "Turn around."

Rose braced the ground through the blanket below her and twisted around.

Surely she was still daydreaming. But a short distance away, by the park's small pond, sat a blue box, and out of it, coming closer and closer, was a tall, thin man in a brown pinstriped suit and a long brown coat.

"Wosie's Doctuh," Tony said. And he couldn't have said it any better.

Rose stood up and turned towards him, wondering if this could actually be real, knowing that it was. The Doctor walked through the grass with purpose, taking long strides with his equally long legs. His face looked serious and determined and he had his hands jammed in his pockets.

She took off and ran to him, leaving the picnic blanket askew. Wisps of hair whipped around her face, stinging. And then they stood in front of each other. Ten feet at most. He looked at her up and down, waiting, it seemed, for her to do something. To yell at him. To smile. To cry. Or just to say something.

"Doctor?" she whispered, hope and disbelief battling in her eyes.

"Rose," he responded.

She didn't need any other confirmation. He was here, in the flesh, somehow. Impossibly. The could get to that later. She rushed towards him, closing the space between them. She jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his midsection and her arms around his back.

Finally. _Finally_ she could touch him. His arms, long and strong, wrapped themselves around her body and held her close, because nothing, _nothing_ was going to separate him from her now. He inhaled deeply and took in her scent, one that to his great pleasure, had not changed since he bade farewell to her years ago.

"You cam back," she whispered into his ear. He shivered and he set her down so that she was standing and looking up at him.

"Of course I did, Rose Tyler," he loved being able to say her name again. "I never stopped looking."

"Neither did I," she returned. They looked at each other, the air whipping around them and filling their ears. He held both of her hands in his and squeezed them tightly.

"So…" he began.

"Yeah?"

"I believe you once told me something about staying with me forever. Is that…is that offer still on the table?"

She smiled, her heart welling up.

"You daft man, of course it is."

"If you don't kiss her right now, then I'll beat the life out of you!" she heard Jackie yell from a distance.

"Rose, I should probably kiss you, shouldn't I?"

"You might be in mortal peril if you don't."

"I'm not really in the mood to regenerate, so I probably shouldn't take any chances."

"Too right."

He cupped her head in his hands, letting his thumb stroke her cheek as he leaned in and caught her lips with his own. He kissed her reverently, as if she were the only relevant thing in the universe in that moment. Their lips were not clumsy but fierce and relentless. She brought her own hands up into his hair, pulling gently and he moaned softly into her mouth. His hands trailed down her back, and his right hand sneaked up under her shirt and over her ribcage, making her shiver and cling against him.

"I said kiss her, not give us a show!" Jackie yelled again.

They broke for air and leaned their foreheads against each other.

"I probably should have had done that much more often."

She smiled and pecked his lips once more. Hands weaved tightly together, they made their way over to Jackie and Tony.

**Please review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter's a bit more dramatic. Please review for me! **

**And I forgot to mention it last time, but of course I don't own any of these characters, etc.**

The Doctor and Rose sat in a darkened living room within the Tyler home. It was quite late and everyone had made their way to bed, but he and Rose sat on the couch, cuddling now that they were alone.

"Thank you for coming back for me," she whispered.

"Any time, Rose Tyler," he said. "Like I had much of a choice, anyway. Can't do very well without you."

She flipped over so that she was basically lying on top of him, and he gulped, his heart picking up double time.

"Why now?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…we were traveling together for two years. You never said anything. Ever. Then you come here and with hardly a word you kiss me—like I've never been kissed in my life, I'll have you know—and…I just wanted to know why."

He was smiling smugly, extremely pleased that he turned out to be such a competent kisser.

"I'm not…I guess I knew better than to be with you in that way," he replied.

"Oh. You just didn't feel the same way then that you feel now? You didn't want to be with me then? And now you do?"

He shook his head and brought his hand around her head so that he was stroking her hair and playing with the pieces that fell around her face.

"Rose, please understand this. I mean, really understand what I am about to say." He looked at her, raising an eyebrow so that she knew he was quite serious.

She nodded.

"I have wanted to be with you _in that way, _I've wanted to snog the bloody life out of you since I can remember. I knew it, and I was slowly admitting it to myself. And when I finally did admit it to myself, I realized that I didn't deserve you. So when you were taken away from me, all the rules went out the window. I just wanted you back in whatever capacity you wanted."

She chuckled.

"So you didn't expect to get snogged this afternoon?"

"Nah," he admitted, "but I can't say that I'm complaining about it."

She nuzzled her head into this chest and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm going to miss them," she said finally, exhaling deeply so that he felt the air travel up his shirt and onto his neck.

"Rose, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I'm coming back to the TARDIS with you. That's my home. It's _our_ home. You aren't going to leave me here. I know you won't."

"Let me finish," he said. "I was going to say, Rose, that I think it's unfair for me to make you pick between me and your family. It's awful, in fact. If I did that, then it might be one of the worst things that I've ever done. So…" His words fell off and the silence became heavy.

"So…" she pushed.

"So I want to stay here with you. In this universe. So long as it's with you. And you have your family. You shouldn't have to choose, Rose. You deserve to have all of it."

She looked at him, absolutely taken off-guard. Had she misheard? Had he just offered to stay here with her?

"But you said once that the TARDIS doesn't really work right here."

"I did."

"Does it now? Work right, I mean."

"No, the TARDIS isn't meant for this universe."

"So you…we wouldn't be able to travel around in this universe. You'd be stuck. Just here. With me. For as long as I'd live."

"That about sums it up, yeah," he said, sounding light-hearted.

There was a tangible silence in the air as Rose stared at him, not blankly, but with awe, and then…

"That's completely insane," she said.

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is! It's complete rubbish!"

"How is it 'complete rubbish', Rose Tyler?" he asked.

"Because you're a Time Lord, and you love the TARDIS. I'm not going to let you abandon your life for me!"

"You are my life!" he shouted. He quickly realized the gravity of what he had just spoken and his eyes became wide. "Why else would I look so hard for you?" he ended weakly.

She brought her hand up to his cheek and scooted her body up so that they were face to face.

"Do you mean that?" she asked.

"Of course I do. You've been my life since I first met you. Pushy, you are." He smirked at his meager attempt at levity.

"You're my life too, you know."

"Really?" He smiled bashfully. As bashful as a Time Lord can reasonably get.

"Of course. But I still think your little plan is rubbish. You can't stay here."

"But—"

"I'm coming with you." There was a look in her eye that said it was not only the end of the discussion, but that she meant what she said without any hesitation.

"But Tony, he'll miss you."

"Never say never, yeah? I'm not assuming that we'll ever get to come back here, but this _is_ your third time here, when you said before that it was impossible. Maybe we can make it for his graduation."

"I don't like that you're sacrificing so much for me, Rose." He looked sad. He knew what it was like to lose everything, and it sickened him to think that he would be the cause of taking everything away from her, too. Maybe he shouldn't have ever returned for her.

But then she spoke again.

"Tell me that you wouldn't do the same for me," she said, looking him dead in the eye.

He knew he would. He knew he would give her everything and sacrifice whatever was necessary.

"I've been here without you for three years, for you a little less, I know, but I realized one thing while I've been here. It's that I need you, just you. But I want _you_. The TARDIS is part of you. Saving the universe what seems like every week is also part of you. And…I want to give to you, not take away. Do you understand?"

"But it's the same for me. I don't want to take away from you either-"

"Will you shut it!" she bellowed suddenly. "I'm trying to tell you that I love you! I'm trying to tell you that I want to be with you forever, going on adventures because I know that they make you happy! They make you who you are! I love my family, so, so much, but I couldn't live with myself knowing I took your life away from you just because you think that they are a necessity in my life. I love them with my whole being, but you are my only necessity, you always have been. I will miss them, but I'm my own woman. I know what I want, and it's you, okay?"

She looked very cross indeed, and she hoped she hadn't woken anyone with the rather high volume of her voice, especially her mum, she didn't want her to hear her say that, not in those words. But she didn't have much time to think about it, because the Doctor pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, clutching her body to his in such a way that made her melt into him and forget what her next point was. His right hand trailed all over her back while his left grabbed her bum possessively and she gasped into their kiss, wondering where this kind of behavior had come from in a Time Lord who had once been so guarded with his emotions. She also didn't much care at the moment, and she kissed him equally as fervently, loosening his tie and pulling it off so that she could unbutton his shirt.

He gasped as he felt her hands graze his chest. Clearly at a disadvantage in the skin department, he started to shimmy her blouse up over her head, when they heard footsteps in an upstairs corridor.

"Rose," she heard Jackie mumble sleepily, walking down the stairs. "Rose's that you makin' all that noise?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A bit of humor for you all. Please review! Happy New Year!**

They froze in the darkness hoping that if they held still for long enough, and if they where quiet enough, Jackie might just decide that it was one of her lap dogs and then go back up to bed.

But they both knew they weren't kidding anyone, especially not Jackie Tyler. They had a split second right themselves—and definitely not completely—before the barrage began.

"You!" she shouted, not sleepy at all anymore. She pointed to the Doctor, staring at him with such intensity that he gulped, absolutely knowing that in the next few minutes he would definitely experience a famous Tyler slap.

"What are you doing _on top of my daughter_?"

"I…I," he stumbled. The situation was made all the more awkward by his distinct lack of shirt, but at least Rose had the wherewithal to buckle his belt back surreptitiously while Jackie was screaming. "I…you see. Your daughter, Rose, she, she…"

"I'm just kissing him, mum, I can do what I like," Rose chimed in, trying to save the Doctor from his unusual loss for words.

"Not in my house, you bloody well can't! And it looked like you two are doing considerably more than kissing." Her eyes bored into the Doctor's and she gave him a once-over that scrutinized his lack of shirt.

"I, well, Jackie," he seemed to be getting his words back, "welllll, it's just, when I'm with Rose I tend to get a little carried away. It's always the case. We'll land on a planet just for a visit, just so I can show her towns and people and sunsets, and then of course she discovers some horrible injustice, and even though I'm usually the first one to lend my Time Lord services, it suddenly became Rose insisting that we help them and next thing you know we're running around Rassilon knows where and for our very lives and now I'm here with her and I haven't seen her in so long and she's here and I'm here and I never really kissed her properly before and then next thing I know we're kissing and you know how I said that when I'm with Rose that I can't help but get carried away and then you came downstairs and here we are."

"Um, right," said Jackie, stunned by his tidal wave of words.

"He can hardly take all the credit," piped Rose, who wasn't really in Jackie's line of vision, still slightly pinned under the Doctor on the couch. This detail seemed to whip Jackie Tyler back into the frenzy she'd started before.

"And you, Rose Tyler! Your brother is just upstairs and he doesn't need to here your…your romp while he's trying to sleep!"

Rose blushed, actually embarrassed. She hadn't thought about Tony hearing anything, but then, she wasn't really thinking of much at all during their "romp."

"Sorry, Mum," she said, pushing her self up to she could see her mother, who looked still to be simmering with a fair amount of rage. "We'll…take it elsewhere."

"You will keep all that sort of business in that flying box of yours," she said, glaring again at the Doctor. He nodded silently and hoped that Jackie was soon to make her exit.

"Right, well," she continued, "I'm going back up to bed. Turn the lights off when you two come up, will you?"

When they finally heard the door close upstairs they both let out a breath that they weren't aware that they were holding. Rose sat up so that she was sitting very close to him, their skin touching, and she giggled quietly into his shoulder.

"I don't know what you're laughing about, Rose Tyler. I'm lucky I came out of that alive."

"I'm surprised she didn't slap you!"

He laughed at that, equally surprised himself. Perhaps she was saving them up to use all at once when he did something even more stupid.

It was while they were laughing softly as not to wake anyone up, that they became keenly aware of he movement of each other's bodies. Before either of them knew what was happening, Rose kissed him again, locking her fingers in his hair and lifting her leg over is legs so that she was straddling him.

He was the first one to break the kiss.

"Rose," he said as she tried to recapture his lips. "Rose, perhaps…perhaps we'd better stop for now. I mean…your mum. If she were to come down and see us again, I think she'd kick me out of the house. She might even kick you out of the house."

"Nah, she trusts me. It's you who she thinks is a dubious alien."

"That's because I _am_ a dubious alien, just a dubious alien that you happen to love. And I wouldn't be so quick to think that your mum trusts you. Not since you started hanging out with me."

She gave him a fake pout when he shifted her off of his lap.

"Rose Tyler, are you moping? I didn't have you pegged as a moper."

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"I love you, you know," he said.

She didn't say anything to this at first, letting his words fill the air around them.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah. I think I always have. You have a funny way of being consistently amazing."

She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. She wanted to do more, but she thought he probably did too, and she wasn't really up for getting kicked out of the house tonight.

"And beautiful. Can't forget that. Bloody gorgeous, you are."

She snickered and gave him another peck on the cheek.

"And smart. Rose Tyler, you are unbelievably smart."

She leaned in to give him a kiss, but then pulled back.

"A kiss for every compliment?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was the idea, yeah. For a moment I was training you like a puppy."

She decided that he deserved one anyway.

"You know, it _is_ pretty late. We should probably head to bed."

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"You know what I mean! We should get some _sleep_."

"Right you are, Rose Tyler. Why rush? We have all the time in the universe to get carried away."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed! I love to hear from you. This story is ending up a little longer than I intended it to be originally. It's going to have at least one more chapter, maybe two. I'm considering doing a sequel, but I don't want to jump the proverbial shark. Anyway, enjoy reading! :)**

**Oh, and I don't own Doctor Who.**

Over the next week the Doctor and Rose managed to keep out of compromising positions. They spent the afternoons with Jackie and Tony and occasionally Pete, and sometimes she and the Doctor would walk around the estate's gardens with Tony riding on the Doctor's shoulders.

It was one of those afternoons when Tony had been fetched by his mother for his nap and they were left to walk together up and down the paths of the gardens.

"Not much of an adventure, this," said Rose. The gardens were beautiful to be sure, filled with lush flowers and artfully arranged water elements. Should you desire shade from the sun, it seemed like just when you thought you could really use a bench sitting under and old tree, one seemed to appear along the pathway. It didn't actually just appear, of course, but the layout of the garden seemed to predict the needs and desires of the occupier so well that even the Doctor was impressed.

"I'll give you that it's no Jalix 5," he replied, "but I think we can both agree it's better than the whole of Surrey."

She laughed lightly, but pressed on. "You know what I mean, Doctor. How much longer are we going to stay here?"

They stopped when a stone bench and tree conveniently came up on their path and they sat down, light peeking in through the gray and white clouds of the afternoon.

"We can go whenever you like. I was waiting for you to say the word, really."

"I think it should be soon. I think mum is getting the impression that you intend to stay with us forever."

"If you'll remember, Rose Tyler, that was my original plan," he said.

"I like my plan better. It involves fewer gardens and more…" she struggled to think of the correct word.

"Timey-wimeyness?"

"Yes! Exactly!"

"And your plan is?" he persisted.

"Just that we stay with _each other_ forever."

"That is definitely a plan that I can live with." He kissed her forehead gently. "Though I don't think that your mum is under the impression that I'm staying forever."

"What do you mean?" she asked, lifting her eyebrow in disbelief. "Since when did mum start confiding in you?"

"Ah, well. You see, I wouldn't really call it confiding. It was more like corner-scold-and-intimidate, which and we know those are all extremely difficult to do for a Time Lord, although it might be safe to say that Tyler women seem to have that effect on me."

"What did she do?" Rose yelped.

"Wellllll…"

-x-

_Two days earlier_

It was around eight in the evening. Rose had gone up to take a shower and Tony had been put to bed right after dinner after a long day of fussing. Pete was hiding in the study under the pretense of a call he had to take from Torchwood, but he would likely spend much of the evening there if he could to avoid the post-meal chatter of Jackie, a woman he dearly loved, but from whom he required frequent breaks.

This left the Doctor and Jackie alone in the sitting room, the latter reading a frothy romance paperback and the former looking as uncomfortable as possible. The Doctor plucked a magazine to read until Rose came back from her shower, from the small table in front of the couch he was sitting on, when Jackie abruptly shut her book and said, "So."

"Yes, so," replied the Doctor, wary of the direction of any conversation that started with so indelicate a segue.

"I know you two must be leaving soon. I knew you'd come for her one day. Just been waiting, really, for you to come back and take her away from me."

"Jackie, that's not what I'm trying to do—"

"I know, you daft man," she said, cutting him off. "Any fool can see that you were meant to be together. And I'd rather have Rose back in the old universe; it's her home, after all. I've made a life with Pete and Tony here…but Rose, she belonged back there. She belongs with you. It's just…" she trailed off.

"It's just what?"

She lowered her voice. "I just wish that I knew, really knew that you aren't going to leave her. If she doesn't have you with her, then she won't have anyone."

"Jackie, I have absolutely no intention of ever leaving Rose. I'll spend my life trying to keep her."

"You say that now," she replied, "but what about when she gets old? Or what if there's another accident. I know, I know. That's not the point. I know she's probably safer with you in the long run. I know you'll take good care of her. What I'm trying to say is…I wish you could make that promise to her."

"I already have!"

Jackie's eyes became enormous. "You've proposed to Rose?"

"What? No! I…that's what you were getting at? I'm…admittedly a bit confused."

"I was going to say that I would feel better as a mother if you made my Rose an honest woman and married her!"

"No! What? Jackie…it's not like that."

"What do you mean, 'it isn't like that'?" she asked, mocking his voice with strange accuracy.

"It's just…we haven't gotten _that far_, if you know what I mean."

"Rubbish," Jackie snorted.

"Hardly, what with the Tyler family lurking around this place, especially you!"

"I thought you two would have made your merry way over to that blue box of yours."

"We have, I mean, just to fetch things. We've been spending our time almost exclusively here, though."

"Oh, well. Okay. Still, I want…I want you to promise that you're never going to leave her. Ever."

"I'll never leave her, Jackie. I promise."

"Good, then. And I still wouldn't be a opposed if you two were to get married. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but you wouldn't be a completely rubbish son-in-law, especially if you were in another universe."

There was a long pause before he decided to head back up to his room and wait for Rose there. She should be out of the shower by now, anyway.

"I'll keep that in mind. No promises." He nodded at her and said goodnight, wondering if the conversation she just had with Jackie Tyler was real or a figment of his superior Time Lord imagination.

-x-

_Present _

"She…oh," breathed Rose. "I should talk to her about corning you like that. That's hardly fair."

"You have to give your mum some credit, Rose. She's a lot more aware of things…of us, it seems, than we thought."

"Mmmm," said Rose, shaking her head slightly. "I think she was probably just taking that romance she was reading a little too seriously."

"But she was right, you know."

"About?"

"We could…"

Just like her mother's, albeit not the same color, her eyes got very large and her eyebrows sprang upwards.

"Are you asking?"

"Welllll," he drawled, pulling on his ear and looking away.

"Time Lords don't really do marriage, though, do they? 

"No, not exactly." He was still looking away.

"Then let's not do it," she said.

"Huh?" the Doctor replied. This was not the response that he had expected.

"It's not that I don't want to marry you! Oh no! I'm hardly saying no. It's just…we're us, right? Since when would any of that matter to us? It'd just be the same wouldn't it? I mean…I guess correct me if I'm wrong…but I'd say I'm more than your girlfriend, yeah?"

Now it was Rose who was looking away.

"You're hardly a _girl_, Rose. And yes, you've always been more than a girlfriend to me. As a companion alone, and now, well." He paused. "The word 'girlfriend'…it's just so—"

"Human? That _is _what I am."

"But what you are to me is so much more. Not that humanity isn't good enough, that's not what I mean. I'm just saying that it doesn't have the right word, the right sentiment."

"Then we're…I don't know. Mates."

His face twisted in momentary shock and hurt. "Rose, we're hardly just friends…unless…oh." Comprehension dawned on him. "Don't…don't you have to mate with someone before you can be that someone's mate?" Their breathing had accelerated and he seemed to be keenly aware of the goose bumps forming on Rose's skin as the chilly afternoon wind brushed over them. He stroked his hand over her arms in an effort to keep her warm.

"I think we'll get there pretty soon, if you ask me."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely."

"Mates, then?" he asked, pulling her so close to him that she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"Forever."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know this is short! I'm sorry! The next one will be longer, I just thought it ended well here, and I didn't want to rush into the next part because the transition would have been awkward. Anyway, my apologies. I hope you enjoy it. **

They left two days later. It was morning and the sun was barely peeking from the horizon. It was an appropriately chilly morning for a day that promised mildness and the plump comfort of spring.

They both knew that there was no good way to say goodbye, especially when there was no surety that they would ever be able to return. Rose was worried the most for Tony, who she was sure would not understand.

"Tony," Rose prompted to a very sleepy toddler. "Tony, the Doctor and I are going away."

"Okay," said Tony, cuddling his head into Rose's shoulder. This simple motion made Rose's heart swell with sadness.

"And we're not going to come back…for a very long time." The words were painful to say. She knew they might not be able to come back at all, but she hardly had the heart to tell him that.

"Why?" he said, lifting his head up.

"Because we're going very far away, and we might not be able to get back for a while."

"Like when daddy went on a plane and came back with a toy dragon that he said he got from Chin-uh?"

"Yes, Tony, kind of like that, but we don't know when we're coming back." _ If we're coming back._

"Think of it this way, Tony," said the Doctor, who stood next to Rose and rested a hand on her shoulder. It made her shiver.

"You see the stars out there?" In the early morning some stars were still visible in the periwinkle sky. "Rose and I are going way, way out there. By the time we come back, you might be a big kid, or maybe even a grown-up, like your mum and dad here."

Comprehension dawned on Tony Tyler. "That's a long time."

"Yeah, it is," whispered Rose, pulling Tony close to her, feeling the warmth of his cheek against her neck. The Doctor pulled something out of his pocket. It was small and blue and fit in the palm of his hand.

"Rose and I will be in this, up in the stars." He put the small object in Tony's hand. "The TARDIS."

Rose's eyes welled up with tears as she looked up at her Doctor. "Did you make that?"

He shook his head. "She did," he said, nodding at the TARDIS. "Just for him."

Tony held the small model TARDIS in his hand and looked at it with fascination and curiosity. The little boy's eyes grew wide. "TARDIS," he repeated.

"Yes, Tony! Excellent!" The Doctor gave Tony a high-five and the little boy giggled and turned his head shyly.

Jackie, who was standing next to Pete, suddenly launched herself into the Doctor's arms, a sob escaping from her throat.

"Please keep her safe, you stupid, beautiful man." The Doctor's body went rigid but he gradually relaxed, even enough to pat Jackie awkwardly on the back.

"You know I will. She's everything." As Jackie separated from the Doctor, Rose thought she might have seen her slip something into his pocket, but it was done with such discretion that she wasn't even sure it had even happened.

"Rose," said Pete, so suddenly and quietly that it caused all eyes to dart in his direction. "It was good being your dad, you know, while I could."

Rose's eyes again became misty, real tears threatening to spill over and make her a blubbering mess.

"You'll always be my dad. You always were my dad. Don't sell yourself so short, yeah?" With Tony still in her arms, she kissed Pete on the cheek and he embraced the three of them in a hug.

"You two should go now, before Jackie decides that she's not going to let you."

Jackie half-giggled, half-sobbed hysterically, taking Tony from Rose and giving him to Pete, and then embracing Rose in the tightest hug she thought she'd ever experienced.

"I love you, mum. Don't worry about me. I've got the Doctor." Then she smiled. "You should really be worried about Tony here. If he's anything like me, you've got a hell of a ride ahead of you." She gave Tony another hug and then took the Doctor's hand, its warmth and pressure reassuring her that she was doing the right thing, that this really was what she wanted. He looked at her square in the eyes, silently asking her if she was sure she wanted to leave, that he was still willing to stay here. But if there had been any trace of doubt in her heart about leaving Jackie, Pete, and Tony, it was obliterated as they stepped into their blue box and closed the door.

The sun broke the horizon as the TARDIS faded from view.


	6. Chapter 6

The rotor ground loudly as the TARDIS squeezed through universes. The Doctor flew around the console, flipping switches and twisting knobs so quickly that it was tiring just to watch.

With a massive jolt, the rotor ceased and the TARDIS stilled, but not before knocking them both over onto the floor.

"Y'all right, Rose?" the Doctor said, lifting propping himself up on his elbows while he rubbed the back of his neck, at which point he realized Rose had fallen just next to him. Her hair was in disarray and her shirt had flown up, revealing her stomach in a most tantalizing way.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She pushed herself up so she was sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her. "That's honestly all it took to get back here? I'd have figured that it'd be harder to get through universes, what with it being '_impossible_' and all."

She gave him a teasing stare, but he mirrored hers with a surprisingly serious look.

"The TARDIS has likely sustained some damage, but nothing I can't repair in a couple days. The problem is that we can't use that breach again. It'll have sealed itself off, or it will in a moment, and that's one less way to get back, if you ever wanted to."

"But it's good that it's closed, yeah? One less place for Daleks and Cybermen to get through."

The Doctor stood up and glanced at the console while Rose too stood up and walked over to him. He had his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"You know, you're really good at looking sad," she said, putting her arms around his neck.

"I'm not sad. Just…conflicted, I suppose."

"You shouldn't be conflicted. I mean, I know that's your thing, really, but you should take a break. You found me. We're together. We're home. _Our_ home. And I'll be here as long as you want me."

"I'll always want you."

"Then I'll be here always." She stood up on her toes so that she could kiss him, softly at first. He sighed into the kiss, returning it slowly, enjoying the warmth and softness of her lips.

They broke and rested their foreheads against each other.

"I can kiss you now, whenever I like," he whispered.

"That's the plan, yes."

"Things aren't supposed to work out so well for me. I'm the last Time Lord. Things are supposed to end badly."

"Doctor, are you moping?" Rose replied, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"I—sorry."

"You and me, we're Mates. That's with a capital M. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. Right now, I think you have several kisses that belong to me."

"Quite right, too."

This time he leaned in to kiss her, but it lacked the softness of their earlier kiss. This was one was passionate and rough, and attempt to convey years of pent-up love and desire. Their lips crashed together and his teeth lightly caught her bottom lip, biting it softly, making her moan. In the next moment, his tongue traversed past her lips and into her mouth, where he could taste her fully. She weaved her fingers into his hair in a way that made him moan with pleasure.

"Now?" she said, breathing roughly.

"Yes, please. If that's what you want, of course."

"Yes. Always."

As they moved in to kiss each other once again, the surreal nature of the situation hit her. It was only days ago that she still thought she would never see the Doctor again, and now she was here…not only with him, but being touched by him in a way that she never fathomed he would touch her. She gasped slightly, her breath hitching in her throat.

"This…this is real?" she asked. "I really get to do this? I'm not going to wake up alone in the parallel universe."

"It's real, Rose. I'm real. This is real. And what you and I have-"

"—is very real."

He dragged his hands over the fabric of her shirt, lifting it when he reached the bottom.

"Can I?" he asked. She nodded.

He brought the shirt over her head and tossed it somewhere, her hair was mussed and she looked, well…extremely sexy.

"No, fair," she said, as he planted kisses into her neck. She pawed her way up his shirt until she reached his tie, and loosened it until is fell off and slinked to the floor. She then began attacking his buttons, which she was finding very hard to maneuver as he ran his fingers up and down the bare skin of her ribcage.

Finally, with a bit of help from the Doctor, she managed to remove his shirt, and she stared once again in awe of his lean body, appreciating its oddly attractive pallor that was undeniably a massive asset in his favor. She ran her fingertips over him and he shivered. He brought his lips to her ear.

"I want to make love with you, Rose Tyler." His voice was husky and deep and it made her knees weak— actually made her knees weak. Feminists everywhere might be crying, but right now, she didn't care.

"Yes, please. Yes." Before she could say another word, he hitched her up into his arms and carried her the length of the corridor to a room with a bed, his own, where he thought they would be much more comfortable.

Several hours later, Rose Tyler was curled up in his chest sleeping, her warm breath tickling the fine hairs on his chest. He smiled and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

He honestly couldn't believe how he became this lucky. How he was able to find her at all; how she insisted that they return to the TARDIS instead of staying, even though he would readily have stayed with her in the parallel universe for the rest of her life; how—and this was when it became truly unfathomable—she loved him too, even though he had lost her. And she'd loved him before, too. Of course, he'd been too foolish to act on it. Maybe if he had, then they'd never have been separated in the first place, but what mattered now was that they were together. Can't change the past—well, you can, but he didn't want any paradoxes mucking up the universe.

Rose shifted slightly in his arms; she was waking up. She sighed as her eyes fluttered open and he smiled widely at her.

"Mmm," she hummed sleepily. "Really mates now."

He chuckled. "Is that how I'm going to have to introduce you now? 'This is Rose Tyler, my mate.' Sounds funny."

"People on all sorts of planets use the word 'mate.'"

"Still sounds funny."

"Well, then what do you propose?" She pulled her body up so that she was in a sitting position, the sheet tucked under her arms.

"Oh, well, that, really."

"What are you talking about?" She rubbed her eye sleepily.

He leaned over to the nightstand and picked up a small object, which he held tightly in his hand.

"Your mum gave me something before we left. I…I wanted to give it to you, if you'll take it."

"What do you mean? What did she give you? Can I see it?"

"If you don't want it…I'm not pressuring you to take it. You can say no."

"No to what? Just show me the damn thing!"

He chuckled nervously and unraveled his fist, revealing a very modest silver ring with an equally modest diamond.

He started talking before she could react.

"I know that you said that we could just be mates…but honestly, I think I'd much prefer it if I could call you my wife."

She was speechless. He rushed to fill the silence.

"Should I have waited to ask you? Maybe asking you just after you woke up wasn't a good idea. Rose, you don't have to answer. We…we can just pretend I didn't ask, okay?"

"Doctor," she said slowly. "You actually haven't asked me anything."

"I haven't?" he asked, replaying the conversation in his head. He hadn't.

"No."

"Should I?"

"Might do."

"Then…okay. Rose Tyler, do you think you'd fancy marrying me?"

A massive grin grew on her face and she flushed pinker than he'd ever seen her. She wasn't about to complain. If this is what the Doctor wanted, then this is what she wanted to give him. She was, however, having trouble processing that the last of the Time Lords had just asked her to marry him. She'd save that puzzle for later. Right now, she had a question to answer.

"I think I'd fancy that very much, thank you."

The Doctor gave an enormous sigh of relief, and Rose pulled him in so she could kiss him.

"You're sure this is what you want, Rose?" he asked after they had separated.

"Very sure," she said, smiling. "So…should I put it on, or would you like to?"

"What? Oh! The ring. Right. Yes. I think I'll do it, if you don't mind."

He took the ring and slid it onto the fourth finger of her left hand, where it fit perfectly. He held her hand in his, admiring every bit of it.

"I think this was your gran's or something. It looks—it looks absolutely beautiful on you. Though, I must admit, I wish that I had something to give you of my own. Ha! Wait! Maybe I do!"

He jumped off of the bed and darted out of the room.

"Um…pants? No, apparently not," Rose said to nobody.

He was gone for a few minutes, but returned with the same speed at which he had left.

"Nope. No pants."

He chuckled and sat back down on the bed.

"I know it's not the same…but I don't really have a lot of jewelry or trinkets-"

"I wouldn't want those anyway, you know that."

"I know. So instead, here." He pulled his hand out from behind his back and put a slender metal device in her hand.

Her jaw dropped and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You're…you're giving me a Sonic?"

"What's mine is yours, remember?"

"I…can I even use one of these? Like, is it possible?"

"Of course! I mean, I'll have to do some tinkering, make it more compatible for human use, and you'll have to practice. It's a bit complicated. But I think it only makes sense that you have one too. Indispensable, this thing is."

"Doctor, you didn't need to get me anything. I mean, you just asked me to marry you…that's more than I ever expected." She smiled and looked down at the bed, avoiding eye contact.

"But the ring really isn't mine, and I wanted to give you something that, I don't know, symbolizes the same thing."

Then it dawned on her.

"Oh. Oh. You've just given me a piece of Time Lord technology. You're trusting me with this. You trust me."

"Yes. I always have. And I love you."

**A/N: Perhaps a bit cheesy, but oh well. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

How do you marry a Time Lord?

Rose sat at in a rickety wooden chair in the kitchen, staring at a cup of tea. This problem hadn't really been an issue before, and she'd never had to consider it so, well, seriously.

Not that she hadn't ever thought of it before, but they'd been the fantasies of her romantic pipe dreams—everything all very human. She with the Doctor, wearing a white dress, in a chapel somewhere, maybe a beach on some beautiful planet. He'd be wearing a tux, likely—no, probably not, he'd probably stick with his suit and she would have preferred that anyway.

And her mum would be there. She'd have dragged her from London onto the TARDIS if they were going off-planet and maybe she'd invite Mickey too. She'd've invited Shareen if they'd have married in London.

But now those things were out the window, so to speak. It would just be her and the Doctor, not that she minded, really, but it did make things decidedly more difficult to think through.

If Rose were being honest, she missed her family very much. She missed her mum, and Pete, and Tony, and every day on the TARDIS felt like a cruel reminder of how she was likely never to see them again. Her mum could never help her plan her wedding, hell, her mum would never know that she was going to marry the Doctor—but perhaps she suspected all along.

So she sat in the kitchen, wearing her pyjamas and staring at a quickly cooling cup of tea, wondering how one usually went about marrying a Time Lord and how she was going to do it without her mother.

The Doctor waltzed into the kitchen wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist, his hair damp and messy and quite clearly fresh from the shower.

"There's still hot water in the kettle," she said absentmindedly as he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and made himself a cup of tea.

"Excellent," he said, and sat in the chair across from hers.

They'd been back in the old universe for a couple of weeks, adapting to their new dynamic, which now might be called, apparently, the It's-Normal-and Encouraged-to-Wander-Around-the-TARDIS-Naked-In –the-Morning-Thanks-Very-Much Factor.

"I like this," she said.

"You like what you see?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Well, yes, of course, but I meant that I like this. All of this."

"How do you mean?"

"I like that we wake up together in the same bed. And that when you're done in the shower you come into the kitchen and we drink tea together. And that after we've finished breakfast, if tradition holds, you'll kiss me before I go get in the shower. You may or may not follow me there, depending on if you want to tinker with the console or not, at which point you may or may not take your second shower of the day, but with present company included. And then we'll likely get dressed and have an adventure. And you'll love it and I'll love it. And it will be amazing. And it's all so domestic even if you once told me that you don't _do_ domestic."

He took a sip of his tea and smiled widely.

"Domestic isn't so bad when it's with you, Miss Tyler. It's a bit the same, really, only there's a bit more shagging."

"There's a lot more shagging."

"And it's great."

"Toast?" she asked, pushing herself up from her chair and grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter. "I bought some new marmalade the other day. And it _isn't_ alien. It's from Fortnum's."

"Hey, big spender."

She popped their toast in the toaster and reached into the refrigerator to extract the marmalade.

Without turning around, and while struggling with the lid of the marmalade, she said, "So how exactly are we going to go about getting married?"

He sputtered in his tea as she managed to open the jar with a thick popping sound.

"I—uh…we'll just say our vows, right? And then we'll exchange rings and kiss. That's typically how it's done, yeah?"

"Well, yes. But what I meant was when and where and if I'll need to hire some alien wedding planner or if you wanted to get married on Earth or New Earth or literally anywhere else in the universe. And if I should get a dress, like a proper white one, and if you wanted a tux—I know how you feel about tuxes."

He remained slack-jawed during her barrage of words, which had clearly been bottled up for some time.

"We can get married wherever and however you'd like, just so long as we get married." A fierce look of possessiveness came over his eyes, and it made Rose go temporarily weak at the knees.

"I wish my mum were here to help," she said quietly, returning to the table with toast and marmalade.

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"This isn't so much about the wedding so much as missing your family."

"What? No. Maybe a little. It's just weird to think that my mum won't be here when I get married. But I'm not sad, really. I made the right choice, Doctor. I love you. I want this. What we have here. You're my family. You're all I need."

He smiled, albeit weakly. "I wish your mum could be here, too. Even though I know that she'd try and force me into a tuxedo, and she'd probably take complete control over the wedding. I just wish you could have both of us. I just hope that in the end, you'll think I was worth it."

He reached across the table and took her hand in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"You're always worth it, Doctor. Don't think for a minute that you aren't. I chose this. I chose you. I chose us. Plus, I think mum might have suspected we'd wind up married all along. She probably thinks we're off and married already."

"Wouldn't want to disappoint Jackie Tyler. Do you suppose we ought to get married today?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh," he sighed, hanging his head and looking quite dejected and adorable.

She burst into a fit of giggles and nearly choked on her toast.

He stood up and looked at her with fear in his eyes, thinking that she was in fact choking, which would not have done either of them any good at all.

"Oh, Doctor. I'm sorry, but you should have seen the look on your face. I was going to say that I don't think that we should get married _today_ because I think I might have a much better idea-" He opened his mouth to interrupt her, presumably to say something about how nobody ever had ideas that were better than his (except, if he was being honest, Rose). "I was thinking we might go back to 2005. London?"

The Doctor halted what was about to be a deluge of some speech or another and simply stared at her, looking almost confused.

"When we first met?"

"Yeah, thought it might be romantic."

"Don't want to initiate a paradox."

"I'm not saying we get married in the basement of Henrik's. Maybe there's a nice chapel in Chiswick or something, something out of the way from all of the…mayhem that we started."

"You, Rose Tyler, are absolutely fantastic."

**A/N: I love reviews! They help me write more. I'll update the next chapter whenever it is that it gets written.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long to update, but here we go! I ended it where I did because I didn't want it to drag and I thought the next part deserved its own chapter. Please review! I love them.

Rose Tyler stepped out of the shower to a steamy bathroom and wrapped a towel around her body. She squeezed the water out of her hair into the sink, and stepped out of the ensuite into their bedroom. The Doctor was sitting on the edge of the bed, trousers and shirt on but lacking his jacket, and humming pleasantly to himself as he laced up his trainers.

She loved these moments, the ones where he didn't know she was watching him, just seeing him happy and content, as if the world was now less dark and painful. She smiled and walked up behind him and put her lips next to his ear, making him jump in surprise.

"I've decided against a white wedding dress," she whispered.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm. Thought I might wear jeans and a t-shirt, the usual."

"I think you look amazing in whatever you wear, you know that."

"You're supposed to say that," she said, grinning wider. "I just thought that a wedding dress isn't very us. And even though we're getting married, and that's a really big deal…it's really just another adventure, right? Just the best one yet. A wedding dress would make it…weird."

"I'm just thrilled to be marrying you, honestly." He looked at her intensely and she inhaled shakily. And then she said something that she did not entirely intend to say.

"Why?"

He leaned back with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'why?'?"

Where it came from, she wasn't sure, but now she was committed.

"I…just mean…I know you love me. And I know you want to marry me, and I want to marry you, and I love you. It's just that…before, when we were just friends, before we were separated, you never even acted like you might love me beyond being best mates. It seems like it was just a switch. I'm not doubting that you love me, I just don't understand why, or when, for that matter."

He sighed and looked at her for a moment before responding.

"It wasn't a switch."

"No?"

"I've loved you…longer than would probably make you comfortable."

Her eyes became wide with curiosity. "When, then?"

"I think when I came over to your flat that one time and asked you what you were doing there, and you said you lived there, and your mum tried to seduce me. Do you remember?"

"Doctor, that was like the second time we met."

"I know."

"And you never did anything about it?"

"How could I? Human. Time Lord. Young. Ancient. Hopeful. Damaged. I had no right to think that we could even be friends. And then I never did anything about it because I didn't want you to leave me. I didn't want things to become awkward or weird. I didn't want to drive you away, but then I managed to do that anyway. And you never knew. You never knew that I loved you. I'm sorry, Rose. I am so, so sorry. When I found you I had to most amazing feeling of relief…and happiness that I'd forgotten since you'd left. I'm so sorry for not telling you before."

She turned so she was facing him completely and took both of her hands in his.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I didn't mean to bring those thoughts back. But…it's good to know. I love you, you know. I have from that moment you asked me to come with you."

"The first time I asked or the second time?"

"The first time." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. He put his arms around her waist and it caused the towel loosely tucked around her to come unraveled and fall down. He wasn't complaining. He trailed his hands up and down her bare back, making her bloom with goose bumps. Before he could move his hands to her front, she pushed off of him lightly.

"I think we should save this for later."

He pouted his lips.

"Think of it like this: next time you have sex, it'll be with your wife."

"_Or_ we could have sex now and then again later when you're my wife."

"I'm going to get dressed! Go set the co-ordinates or something."

She walked back to the bathroom, swinging her hips with extra emphasis, and leaving her towel on the bed, and the Doctor's mouth wide open in appreciation.

"Right. Chiswick, you said?" asked the Doctor, pushing open the doors of the TARDIS.

"Yeah, that was just an idea. Anywhere would have done, really."

"Well, we're in Chiswick. But I don't think we're in 2005. I think maybe 2006…or 2007. Still though, London. Early 21st century. I'd call that pretty good aim. And I'm sure we'll find some chapel open that will marry us."

"How very romantic of you, Doctor," she said rolling her eyes.

"Ah! Look! There's a church. St. Mary's!"

It was late afternoon, and the church did not seem bustling with parishioners. Indeed, it didn't even look particularly open for church business, but they weren't really two to take "no" for an answer.

"Are you allowed to just go into a church and ask a vicar or some bloke to marry you?"

"How should I know? This is your planet, not mine."

"I've never been married before! I don't know the rules."

"We just can't let them say no, then," he said, taking her hand in his and making their way to the church, when a tall woman in a hurry ran straight into them.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said, looking up from her cellphone. She looked them up and down, appraising them with a skeptical eye. "What you two doin', then? Didn't know too many people went to church on Thursday evenings."

"Looks like you're going to the same place, yeah?" Rose responded, placing a hand on her hip and becoming defensive.

"Just lookin' to book the place for my wedding, thanks. Ah," she paused, looking at them knowingly, "that's what you two are doin' too."

"Well, yes, sort of," said the Doctor. "After you?"

The woman had started in front of them before he had time to complete his sentence. She moved purposefully up to the church, her red hair pulled into a rather hasty ponytail.

"Who d'you suppose she is?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

"A woman on a mission, it seems."

The woman made it to the offices first, and when she exited, she stopped and talked again.

"Bit skinny, isn't he?" she said to Rose.

"He's brilliant. A little…alien, sometimes, but brilliant."

"Right, well I'll take your word for it. Name's Donna by the way."

"Rose. And this is the Doctor."

"The Doctor, hmm? You're joking."

"Definitely not," he replied, feigning offense.

"Well, then. Nice to meet you, Rose…Doctor. Good luck with everything. Perhaps I'll see you around."

"Oh, I think we will," the Doctor said, smiling as Donna walked out of the church.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"Her fiancé is working for the Empress of the Racnoss. She'll discover it the hard way. We have a bit of an adventure. She ends up not marrying Lance."

"His name was Lance?"

"Rose Tyler, don't think that I don't appreciate that you thought the strangest thing about that little anecdote is that the bad guy was named Lance." He pulled her close and kissed her lightly.

"You need to tell me about your adventures while I was gone. What's yours is mine, after all. But let's get married first, yeah?"

"That sounds like a brilliant plan to me."


	9. Chapter 9

As it turns out, you can't simply walk into a church and demand a vicar marry you on the spot, even if you are the Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, and Rose Tyler, Defender of Earth. Somehow clerics don't appreciate the prestige brought by time travel, but he did promise that if they returned in three days and didn't mind the ceremony being short and simple, he had a small opening in his schedule wherein he could marry them.

So naturally, Rose and the Doctor pretended to be very putout about having to wait three whole days, and after being told multiple times by the increasingly irritated vicar that there was nothing he could do, they walked back to the TARDIS, set the controls to three days in the future, and were married ten minutes later.

Everything was perfect.

They walked out of the church the same way they had walked in, hand in hand. There was no pomp and circumstance, no rice showering over their heads. There were no well-wishers or shiny classic cars come to take them away. It was just the Doctor and his Rose walking in the grey bustle of a Chiswick afternoon as they made their way back to the TARDIS.

Everything was simple.

They had said traditional vows, what the vicar had asked them to repeat. But what he was really promising her was the stars; she could see it in his eyes. He was telling her that he loved her more than all of them, which was still a concept that to her was almost unfathomable. But not quite, because it was him, and she trusted him completely.

And she promised him everything she had. And forgiveness for everything he ever thought he had done wrong. She promised to love him to the last of her days. She promised him the impossible, that she wouldn't have a last day, because they would find a way to stay together always.

He put a simple band on her left ring finger (a human custom that he rather liked) that he'd unearthed from a time in his life that didn't have his perfect, yellow and pink human in it. And she did the same, extracting a shiny silver ring from her jeans pocket and slipping it on to his left ring finger. It was all very human, and he loved it.

Where and when she had gotten the ring, he wasn't entirely certain. She had either conspired with the TARDIS (which was always possible), sneaked off during one of their adventures (but he had learned that letting her out of his sight never led to good things, and vice versa), or maybe she had it the whole time. Regardless, while it was just a small piece of metal around his finger, it felt right, as if it should have been there the whole time, really, ever since he had first told her to run for her life.

And when the vicar told him that he could kiss the bride, he really didn't appreciate being told when he was allowed to kiss Rose, especially by a pasty, balding man. But this order was not one that he found to be particularly unpleasant, in fact, he had been looking forward to this part most of all. Plus, nobody besides Rose would ever have to know that he, a Time Lord, ever took orders from an aging English clergyman.

And then he kissed her. And she kissed him. And it was one of their best because it was just the beginning of everything. Rose moved her arms from his chest where they had rested and wrapped them around his neck, before snaking her fingers up further and holding his head tightly so he would not even think about breaking the kiss. And he wrapped his arms around her back, drawing her so close that she was pressed flush against him. They melted into one another, their breaths laboring, and all three of their combined hearts picking up in quadruple time.

But of course, the poor forgotten vicar cleared his throat, and said that while he wished them all the happiness in the world, he really had to get to an appointment, and if they could please sign the banns, he really needed to get going.

Which is when the Doctor may have whispered in to Rose's ear, "Quite right, too."

They had made it back to the TARDIS so quickly and with so little patience that Rose had to remind the Doctor that he might want to close the door all the way, because it wouldn't exactly be in their best interests to be…interrupted.

The best way to ameliorate the situation was, logically, to swing her around and press her firmly against the door so that it latched soundly, and giving him just the right amount of leverage for applying all of his attentions to her shirt, which had to come off.

"Rose Tyler, you've just married at Time Lord," he said huskily into the hollow of her throat.

"You think you're so impressive," she practically moaned.

He smiled as he worked his finger along the button and zipper of her jeans and he removed his tie quite expertly.

"I am so impressi-"

Before he could finish what he was attempting to say, she caught his mouth with her own.

"As much as I enjoy barricading the door with my body, Doctor," she said after they'd broken their kiss, "I think that I'd be much more comfortable in our bedroom."

Even though they'd been sharing a room for a while, it was still extremely pleasant to hear her say "our bedroom."

"Our bedroom, indeed," he said, swinging her into his arms and practically running down the corridor to their room, where the Doctor fulfilled his unspoken promises about seeing the stars.

**A/N: I could keep going with this. I think I will? I'm not sure. I think there will be at least one more chapter. I love how this fic started out with a goal of being two or three chapters. It has grown quite a bit. Anyway, please review! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Last chapter**

Rose curled into his body as he slept. He breathed in steadily, and she felt the steady syncopation of his hearts against her chest. She nuzzled his chest and he sighed contentedly in his sleep, and eventually she drifted asleep as well, his arm draped over her body, holding her close.

She awoke the next morning and knew immediately that he was no longer sleeping. She could feel his eyes staring at her, as if he were attempting to will her awake. Finally, she opened her eyes, blinked several times as they adjusted, and beheld the Doctor, shirtless and lying on his side, head propped up by his arm.

He smiled widely.

"Sleep well?"

"Mmmm, very," she replied, pushing herself off of the bed and stretching.

"That _is _a rather excellent view from over here, I must say," he said as he stared at her form.

"You like?"

"Always have."

She leaned in to kiss him, skin touching skin, but she sensed that somehow he was preoccupied. She brought her hands down from his head where her fingers were tangled in his beautifully mussed hair, and placed them on his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" she whispered into his ear.

"I-" he broke off. "Nothing. Everything is perfect. I promise."

"Liar," she whispered again huskily, as if she meant it as a seduction.

He was silent for a moment and they broke apart so that he could look at her, her skin perfectly flushed and glowing, her blonde hair unkempt and trailing down her back. This, this right here was perfect. It was everything. It was more than he had ever dared to ask for, and certainly more than he deserved.

"It's just-"

"Yes?" she said taking one of his hands in hers. That itself was comforting. It was an ancient gesture between the two of them, their first physical sign of friendship and affection.

"I see this here, you and me, together like this, waking up together, living together…being married…and, I suppose…I suppose just worry."

"You're thinking about what I think that you're thinking about?"

"If what you're thinking about is the fact that even though I _know_ you mean 'forever' when you say it…one day I'll still be alone. One day you won't be here. One day I'll have to wake up again in this bed, maybe with this face, maybe with a new one…and you won't be there. And it won't be that I'm just alone. I can do alone. I don't prefer it, but I can do it. I've been alone my entire life. It's that…I won't ever have this again—I won't have you. And that day is so terrifying, that to think of it, even with you here right in front of me, makes me think of…that. It makes me think of that. You being gone, that is."

She looked at him with her head tilted and her mouth plucked into a crooked, tragic smile.

"I don't want you to worry about that."

"But I do. You're my wife. You're Rose Tyler. You're my best friend."

"But I don't think that you should worry about it, Doctor."

"How can't I?"

She brought her hand up to his cheek and grazed her fingers there.

"Because you brought me back here."

"And?"

"And you said that it was impossible. That I'm here is an impossible thing. And what was it that you once told me? 'Never say "never ever"'? I'm not saying that I'm going to live to the end of time. And we certainly aren't going to find some magical plant on some weird planet that will make me live until I'm 500 years old, but you and I have a funny way of stumbling into the impossible. So, yes, today my days are still numbered. But don't raise a white flag yet, yeah? You wouldn't have come to get me if there wasn't some kind of hope for some kind of future."

_That_ right there was why he married this woman. That was why he asked twice when he first asked her to come with him. It's why he never stopped looking for her. It's why everything felt so perfect and peaceful when he was with her. It was because she was worth it. She was worth everything. He'd burnt a sun for her before to say goodbye, before he'd found a way back. She was worth any amount of suffering he would ever feel, and she was even worth the loneliness he would feel if he was ever without her.

He brought her towards him, guiding her body with his hand on the small of her back. He kissed her deeply, exploring the recesses of her mouth, his lips moving so passionately that they were almost rough. She melted into the kiss, returning it, but letting herself get kissed. She felt like she was getting marked somehow, branded as his, and she wasn't going to steal his moment just now. Later, though, she'd give him a taste of his own medicine when he'd least expect it.

"And if we fail?" he said when they broke their kiss. They were both breathing heavily and their hearts were beating wildly.

"You and I? Shiver and Shake? Nah."

"But if we do?"

"Then we have to love each other super hard in the meantime, just in case."

"Brilliant, you are," he said, beaming.

"Just don't give up, yeah? You're the Doctor; giving up isn't your style. And now you've got me, too. I don't take too kindly to failure either."

"I only take the best."

"Yeah, you've _taken_ _the best_ several times in the past few nights."

"Oi! Cheeky minx."

"I love you, you know. We can't give up on each other."

"You're impossible to give up on, Rose Tyler," he said. "And Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

END

**A/N: Thank you to all who have read/reviewed/and favorited along the way. I hope you enjoyed it. There's a possibility of a sequel to this one, but I still have work out the logistics of it first, so don't expect it immediately. As always, thanks for reading, and please review!**


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